2 day pass

this weekend was likely a new norm:

all of us making our own plans and then making some time for one another.

it's the reality of life with a tween and a teen.

while they both spent friday and saturday evening with friends,

mike and i enjoyed dinner at my brother and sister in law's one night,

and dinner out with friends another-

all of us remarking that it was a nice change of pace to have adult time.

gaudete sunday's sermon centered around joy...

jesus, others and you.

after church, ted went to workout with his uncle and the rest of us went to the public market to view the gingerbread house display.

i wasn't wowed like last year, yet i'm hardly capable of replicating a single one of them.

then lily and i accomplished the lion share of her christmas shopping.

she's a generous and thoughtful gift giver.

i'm seriously in denial that the holiday is almost here.

i blame that on the weather and the chaos of home remodeling.

there is no snow, there are no cookies, there is little peace and no parties in our home.

if the rain that fell over the weekend were snow, we'd be buried.

but mike had no problem firing up the grill sunday night to bbq our chicken.

next weekend will be the last before christmas.

it'll be busy with parties and shopping and wrapping...

none of which i am particularly feeling these days, and yet i'm not exactly dreading any of it either.

the thing is i am not keen about feeling ambivalent during what is often called the most wonderful time of the year.
i am not a ba humbug kinda girl.